Set-top boxes are commonly used for interfacing consumer devices with satellite, cable, and Internet providers. Such set-top boxes can also be employed to provide services such as Internet radio, electronic television programming, media streaming, and online gaming functionality. Each service generally provides integration between users and digital data. Providing such integrative access to users has led the industry to develop robust electronic products which enable users to interact with services provided by such devices in a natural fashion. Similar functionality can also be provided in televisions themselves, and in various other consumer electronics devices, such as home theatre and stereo receivers, docking stations, and the like.
It is common to permit remote control of a consumer electronic device using a handheld control that emits electromagnetic energy, such as a pulsed infrared signal, sensing the signal at the device, and interpreting the received signal to identify an action the device is to take, such as to change the channel of a tuner, or alter the volume of a television or stereo system.